F3: Arvid Lindblad won Saturday’s sprint

Arvid Lindblad won the Formula 3 sprint at Silverstone on Saturday night. Joining him on the podium were Noel Leon and Matias Zagazeta.

Saturday morning the Formula 3 drivers were greeted with rain and poor visibility. On the way from the pits to the starting grid several drivers fell into the gravel, including Gabriele Mini, which led the race management to postpone the start. The wait lasted almost half an hour, but the weather conditions did not improve and it was therefore decided to postpone the sprint to Saturday evening.

Stewards have fined several drivers after Friday’s qualifying. Nikola Tsolov, Max Esterson, Mari Boya and Sami Megetunif lost three places at the start for blocking their opponents.

In the evening the sun was already shining over Silverstone, the track was dry and the racers drove onto the starting grid on slicks.

Pole holder Noel Leon got off to a bad start and was overtaken by second-placed Lindblad in the first corner in the battle for the lead. Leon lost another position on the first lap, allowing Matias Zagazeta to move ahead, but towards the end of the lap he attacked his opponent and regained second place.

Christian Mansell had a good start, ahead of Callum Voisin. The first lap was not successful for Sofia Flörsch and Marie Boy – contact occurred between them and they went to the pits to replace the damaged front wings.

Lindblad tried to open up a gap on the pack, but on the second lap of eighteen Leon set the best time. On the third lap, yellow flags appeared on the track because of pieces of tires from Santiago Ramos. Then the virtual safety car mode was activated so that the marshals could clear the track. Ramos was able to reach the pits on three wheels.

The race resumed on lap four, but lasted only a few turns. Oliver Goethe and Max Esterson collided in turn nine, flew into the gravel and crashed into the protective barrier at high speed. Both left their cars alone and a real safety car entered the track. Goethe was later given a penalty for a collision with an opponent.

The restart took place on lap eight. The top five drivers held their positions, and behind them championship leader Luke Browning went off the track in turn four after Tim Tramnitz collided with him. Browning was able to drive slowly to the pits with a punctured left front tire, change tires and return to the track.

Callum Voisin regained fourth place ahead of Mansell and began to put pressure on Zagazeta for the podium. Lindblad posted the fastest time and extended his lead over Leon to one second on lap 11.

On lap 12, on the DRS straight between turns 5 and 6, contact occurred between Charlie Wurtz and Alex Dunne. Wurz overtook Dunn, touched the grass with his left wheels, lost control of the car and collided with Alex. Dunn managed to reach the pits and Wurz remained outside the track. Race control activated the virtual safety car mode. The stewards did not issue any fines and acknowledged the incident as a racing episode.

The race resumed on lap fourteen and Lindblad continued to build his lead over Leon. Dino Beganovich overtook Nikita Bedrina in the battle for twelfth place.

Arvid Lindblad confidently led the race to victory, beating Noel Leon at the finish by over six seconds. The result allowed the British rider to move up from sixth to third in the individual rankings.

Noel Leon’s second place was his career-best result and his second podium of the season. Peruvian rider Matias Zagazeta reached the podium for the first time. Championship leader Luke Browning finished 24th, with second-placed Gabriele Mini seventh.